Sonic: Top Speed--Part 1: Hanging with Thieves
by R.M. Hunter
Summary: Sonic and Tails have to team up with a band of rogues to stop autonomous invaders from destroying the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1: Bounty Hunter

**Hello to everyone reading this. This is my very first fanfiction story and I am very nervous! I have been a fan of the Blue Blur ever since I began playing Sonic 3 a few months ago. Please leave a review, it will help me in my future posts!**

**The story takes place when Sonic is nineteen and Tails is twelve. The new characters (Firetail Taragon, Gobi Taragon, and Volt Gage) are legendary space pirates in the same universe as Sonic and also (hinted) Star Fox. (does that make this a crossover?)**

**Firetail Taragon is an anthropomorphic grey fox, who travels with his half-cousin Gobi, a fennec, and Zack Gage (aka 'Volt'), a vulture. After a career of looting they are now wanted criminals.**

**If anyone has any feedback at all on any part of the book, please feel free to drop a comment. I would really appreciate any support that I can get here. I will be posting as regularly as I can. Thanks everyone again for checking this out!**

**R. M. Hunter**

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><p>"...increasing the number of outlandish raids to thirty-seven. Thirty-seven! You hear that, bounty hunters? Thirty-seven innocent trade liners have been held up and looted. Consequently, his reward has increased from $18500 to $20000. Remember, the character you're looking for is Firetail Taragon Jr, alias Kronis Death, alias Phoenix, alias The Krait Venom. Find him, capture him, and bring him back alive to collect the full reward."<p>

Firetail flicked the transceiver off and leaned back. "Heh. I wonder how long it will take them to find the crewmen of that space liner back there."

"From what I've seen of their work, it's pretty sloppy," Volt agreed. "So, where to from here?" Firetail rubbed his chin.

"Hm… I dunno. Maybe we could hit Sol. I haven't been there in a while."

"Kind of a far away target, don't you think?" Gobi countered.

"Yeah, but after this fast-paced action, you'd think that someone would need a break. Let's stop by Slip's Bar first and catch some of the latest space dope."

"No news matches your new bounty!" Volt shouted and charged up his engines. Firetail grinned and shot his fighter forward.

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><p>Birds were tweeting, the sun was shining, but not directly on his face, just how he liked it. Nothing relaxed the fastest thing alive more than a tan on the beach. Afterwards, why not take a few laps around the island? He really had nothing better to do at the moment.<p>

This wonderful moment was interrupted by a young voice shouting:

"...Hey, get up! It's important!"

"Eh, could you get any louder?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, yeah, if you w-"

"Sarcasm, Tails. What is it?"

"I just saw the broadcast for the Kronis News. The bounty increased to twenty thousand dollars!"

"Oh really?" Sonic rubbed his eyes and yawned, still not fully awake. "On who?"

Tails shrugged and gave him the 'you don't know?' look. "Firetail Taragon, of course."

"Oh, nice. That boy's really gonna get in some trouble." Sonic laid back down and took a sip of his soda. "So why'd you bother me? It's not like I'm going out to grab some reward."

"Well I just had a hunch. Maybe you're not interested in the reward, but someone else might be."

"Rouge? Jet?" he listed off sleepily.

"Well, yeah… Or worse."

"Dr. Eggman!" He sat bolt upright. "I should've guessed that before Rouge. Maybe that's why he's been so quiet lately." He stood up and laced on his shoes. "So, what do we do?"

Tails shrugged. "I dunno. I just thought bringing it up would be informative."

"Tails, you don't just 'bring up' something that serious without a plan. If Eggman gets his hands on twenty grand, that could really hurt us."

"Well what do you think we could do? Go out and get the reward for ourselves? This guy's slipped through the hands of everybody!"

"Maybe so, but I wonder how fast that spaceship of his really is."

**Hello everyone! First chapter! Not too exciting though. Please, leave a review if there's anything that needs improvement! Chapter 2 will be up very soon.**


	2. Chapter 2: Double Bad News

BAM!

"Listen here, pal. I'm literally one inch away from smashing your guts wide open and if you don't tell me THIS INSTANT what you mean then your severed head and blood will stain this joint forever! Now speak up!"

The ruckus caused several to turn and look as Firetail held another pirate in a death grip, his laser ring right next to the guy's neck. Even Gobi and Volt were surprised at their leader's sudden loss of temper.

"Calm down, feisty-pants," the pirate said, keeping calm himself. "All I said is I'm packing up and leaving this joint for good. Big deal."

Firetail's eyes narrowed into slits. "Why?"

"Is this really your business?"

In a flash of rage Firetail threw the man over his shoulder and slammed his head on the floor. "It _becomes_ my business when _I _want it to be! Now explain that statement or you're vapor!"

Surprised at his strength and dazed from his blow, the drifter looked up. "Okay, I'll spill all I know."

"'bout time."

"There are these mechanical fighters, see? Tons of em'. They've been sweeping the galaxy looking for something that's supposed to be on Cyris. It's some sort of power. It's the only way to stop them, and they know it. So, once they find this thing, they'll destroy it, and then move on to destroy all the surrounding worlds, including Draykeon. And the explosion of Draykeon would also destroy all worlds within a twenty light year radius of that. So, I'm leaving before that happens."

The shock that Firetail was in didn't leave him until after the pirate got up, brushed himself up, and left. The sound of the door slamming shut brought him back to reality.

"Gobi, Volt! Let's move! We've gotta find that thing on Cyris before those fighters do!"

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><p>"Sonic!"<p>

"Uhhh, just great-I mean, hi Amy! 'Sup, Knuckles! Long time no smell!"

"Yeah, same to… what?!"

"Just a little joke there buddy. How you been?"

"Fine. You?"

"Same."

"Sonic, listen to me!" Amy pleaded.

"And here we go. Okay, Amy, you've got my full attention."

Amy paused for a second, taking in the moment. "Oh. Wow. This doesn't normally happen, does it?"

"And you just lost it," Sonic said, turning back to Knux.

"No, wait, really, this is actually very important!"

"You don't say? That makes the second really important urgent update today."

"Seriously Sonic, you'd better listen," Knuckles advised.

"Okay, I'm listening. What is it?"

"We just saw a ship fly over and it looked, well-Eggmanish, if you know what I mean."

Sonic looked disappointed. "Wow, world-shattering news, that was."

"The thing was outfitted for space drive!" Amy blurted out.

"What?"

"I said… the thing was outfitted for space drive! It wasn't like one of his normal ships that just fly around and shoot rockets and stuff. This one was sleeker, bigger, shinier, and it looked ready to go into space! And I mean like deep space!"

"If you ask me, I think he's headed for that bounty set on the head of that fox," Knuckles said.

"You saw the news too?"

"Yeah. Who didn't? That guy's a creep."

"Wow. Alright, that really was serious news. Amy, I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's alright. Just make sure to give me more attention in the future, okay?"

Sonic didn't respond. "So, what do we do now?"

Knuckles cracked his knuckles. "I say we go find that fox and get the reward ourselves!"

"And what would we do with twenty thousand dollars?" Sonic asked. "Look, Knuckles, we're not in this thing for the money. We've _never_ worked solely for money. Ever. And I don't plan to. You shouldn't either."

Knuckles sighed. "Yeah. I just wish that they would treat us better. You know as much as I do that the manager would like to see you and Tails thrown out of your hotel room."

Sonic shrugged. "So, what do you think?"

"I think we'd better go meet up with this Firetail before Eggman gets to him. We might not be able to do much, but if Eggman gets his hands on that money we're doomed!"

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><p><strong>Alright, that's chapter 2! If anyone liked this at all, please followfav and enjoy the next chapter that I'm about to put up!**


	3. Chapter 3: Ancient Legend

The elevator lift appeared and Tails and Sonic both got in.

"I still can't see why we can't go along," Knuckles said. "You might need some backbone out there."

"We only had enough for two tickets," Sonic answered.

"Yeah. See, if you had twenty thousand dollars…"

"Knuckles!"

"Just pointing out."

"Be safe!" Amy called.

"I'll try!" Sonic promised as the lift started to move up.

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><p>Firetail stood still, jaw hanging open, staring at a pathetic-looking sandwich in his hand.<p>

"Oh _great_. Just perfect. Volt just had to go out and do his meteor bites again, right?"

Gobi stared at it. "Trash disposal?"

"No, he'd look there." Firetail looked around, then approached this one not-so-bright looking stranger. "Hello, sir! Fine day, isn't it? Would you like a premium sandwich?"

"Why yes, thank you," the gentleman accepted it. Firetail grinned inside, wiped his hands clean, and walked back to Gobi.

"Premium? Seriously? Couldn't you have used another adjective? You made it sound so delicious."

"Hey, all the ingredients were premium!" Firetail defended jokingly. "Premium artificial ham, premium artificial bread, premi-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, all that. Still it was cruel."

"Who cares? When he comes to, he won't remember any of it. C'mon, let's get outta here."

The pair ran back to the fighters. "Hey guys!" Volt said. "Got the babies refueled. How'd you like the sandwiches?"

Gobi and Firetail looked at each other, then Gobi gave a thumbs-up and said, "Premium!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I could barely hold onto mine!" Firetail said, grinning on the inside.

"Great! I'll make them tomorrow too."

"No! No, uh, you've been working hard lately, you take a break. I'll get the grub tomorrow."

Volt shrugged. "So, before we go to Cyris, would you mind telling me what we're looking for?"

"Something. That's all I know. Something. I'd imagine it to be some source of power."

"Probably, nothing draws mechanoids like power," Gobi stated.

"Maybe it's an ancient relic, or something," Volt contributed. "That would explain all the rumors about it."

"Good logic," Firetail said. "Okay, so we're looking for some source of power that's told about in fables and is probably very old. That rules out most of the city. So, any ideas where to look?"

"Hang on, I'm gonna get a data link on ancient Cyran history," Volt announced.

"If it hasn't been found yet, then it's probably on the side of the planet opposite the city," Gobi suggested.

"Right, or it could be right under their noses and they're too busy to see it," Firetail countered. "But your theory is probably stronger than mine. Volt, any locations?"

"Ancient, source of power, on the dark side of the planet," Volt listed off. "That narrows it down quite a bit. The ruins of Akal-Teki, most likely. Akal-Teki was once a huge city inhabited by aliens. Chances are it's almost completely wrecked by now. It's over 3000 years old. It's not too well known, and nobody goes there because there's supposed to be some sort of bomb down there. The rumor has even deterred the best tomb raiders away."

"Maybe so, but who are the best raiders in the universe?"

"Hmm…," Gobi pretended to be puzzled at the question. "That's a toss-up between The Krait and, eh… maybe Dark Black? I just can't make up my mind." Firetail looked amused.

"Screw it, The Krait definitely are better," Volt stated.

"Okay, enough games. Let's go to Cyris before some guy goes nuts and tries to capture us."

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><p><strong>Again, big thanks to whoever may be reading this. Your views mean a lot to me!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Boarded!

Tails and Sonic sat in their compartment on the space liner, listening to _When Can I See You Again?_ and munching on pretzels.

"Could you switch that off?" Sonic yawned.

"What? It's a good song," Tails objected, nodding his head in beat.

"I know, but we've heard it almost six times."

Tails looked at the radio. "Point taken," he agreed and shut it off, stretching his limbs. "How long was this flight supposed to take?"

"Not sure. Check the map."

Tails brought out his touchscreen tablet. "Hey, we're almost there! Kronis only eighteen light seconds away. We should be there in an hour, give or take a few minutes."

"One more hour," Sonic yawned again and stretched, looking out the window. An alarm buzzer startled him. "What's that?"

"Sounds like red alert! Let's get up on deck!"

In a flash the two had flew down the hallway and into the main corridor. Uniformed soldiers and passengers crowding about delayed them, but they finally made it through the crowd and up to the bridge.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked.

"Huh? Who are you? What are you doing on my bridge?" said the captain. "Get below, there's trouble!"

"Can we help?"

"No. I can't put any passengers in danger. This guy's a bloodthirsty killer!"

Tails and Sonic looked at each other. "Could it be?"

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><p>"Well well well, look at what we have here. A nice, juicy, unprotected and unarmed liner, just waiting for some pirate to come along and swipe their cargo. Whaddya say, Firetail?" Volt asked.<p>

"If it's unarmed fine, but we can't waste too much time on it," Firetail replied. "That cargo will sell for a bundle on Cyris. Gobi?"

"I'm with you."

"Alright, let's blow this place!"

The fighters banked in phase and rocketed at the liner. Volt tapped in on their communications frequency and sent it to Firetail.

"Hello! Attention, everyone down there. All passengers should go to the cargo bay of the ship, and all soldiers to the bridge. That way we won't have any… complications."

The captain of the liner grabbed the mike. "Attention Krait! This is-"

"No need for introductions. You know who I am and I don't really care who you are. Just do as I say and we'll depart soon enough."

The captain sighed, set down the mike, and carried out the order. Sonic stared, shocked.

"You're just gonna let them on board like that?"

"I have no options. If you know anything about space you know not to cross The Krait, unless you've got something as strong as a battle fleet." He opened the docking bay doors to admit the fighters. "You'd better head back to the cargo hold like he said."

Frustrated but not about to do something stupid, Sonic and Tails complied. In only a few minutes the fighters had docked.

"Gobi, take the bridge! Volt and I will scrounge up what cargo we can hold," Firetail ordered.

"Roger," Gobi said and was off. In a matter of seconds she had all of the soldiers at gunpoint.

Firetail's laser rings cut the lock and he and Volt marched into the cargo hold. His mere entry caused quite a few of the passengers to shriek. Sonic studied him for future reference.

He looked almost exactly as Sonic had imagined him: gray with lighter patches and a fiery red tip at the end of his tail. His ears were larger than normal and he was sort of squat for a gray fox, even though he towered over both Tails and Sonic. He strutted like a king, knowing he was safe with his gun-wielding henchman behind him.

The two rummaged through the cargo and picked out what they wanted, stuffing it into large bags. When they went through the passengers' luggage, they found Sonic and Tails' Extreme Gear.

"Hm! Boss, check this out!" Volt said, switching on Tails' and hopping onto it.

"Not bad for garbage," Firetail smirked. "I'm sure some Cyran will want that for taking out his laundry. Bring it along!"

"Hey, you can't take that!" Tails blurted out before Sonic could stop him.

"Can't we?" Volt sneered.

"Don't worry kid. I'm sure it won't be hard to find another piece of junk like that one," Firetail said cockily. An enraged Tails dove for him but Sonic held him back.

"Alright, we got enough to make a go. I'll work on the fuel and you help Gobi on the bridge." Firetail looked at the terrified passengers. "You stay here if you want to live." The door slammed shut behind him.

Sonic waited a few seconds, then opened the door slightly and peeked out. Firetail said something to Volt, then went down to the lower deck. Volt headed to the front end of the ship. In a minute the corridor was clear.

"What are you going to do?" Tails asked.

"I've got a plan. You'll need to stay here."

"Okay. Be careful."

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><p><strong>This is going to be my last post for a little while. If you find any part of the story that you feel doesn't fit, needs improvement, requires clarification, or anything else like that, please take a few minutes and write a review. Your opinions are very valued to me. And, of course, if you liked it, let me know! That would be great!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Turning the Tables

Sonic crept out, closed the door behind him, and tiptoed his way to the docking bay. He chortled.

"Didn't even lock their fighters! I think I'll just sit here for a minute."

In about fifteen minutes the trio returned, filled their fuel tanks with the fuel from the liner, and hopped into their fighters. Sonic was hidden in Firetail's fighter, squeezed in behind the rear generator. It was way more cramped than he had imagined.

When he knew they were in space, he put the second part of his plan into action. He grabbed a wrench from a nearby rack and dropped it down into the cargo belly of the fighter. It clanged loudly.

Firetail sat upright, unstrapped, drew his gun, and headed down to the cargo belly. In a flash Sonic was in the pilot's seat, his keen eyes scanning for-

_"Hold it right there!"_

Firetail had his blaster leveled on Sonic, but Sonic had already put his finger on the self-destruct button.

"Make a move and we both go up!" Sonic threatened. Shocked, Firetail froze. "Drop the gun." He did so. "Now turn around, and keep your hands in view."

"Knew this would happen someday," Firetail groaned as he did as Sonic ordered. Sonic grabbed the gun and leveled it.

The radio beeped. "Firetail, what's up? You're headed to an asteroid field," Volt's voice said. Sonic looked up.

"Call em' off or else," Sonic ordered. Sighing, Firetail grabbed the mike.

"Hey guys. This is Firetail. I've been hijacked by a stowaway. Don't do anything until I give the command."

"Firetail, we can get you out of there!" Gobi said.

"No! Just do as I say!"

There was no response, and Firetail put the mike back down and returned to his position.

"Congrats to you, mister pointy-hair, you've just landed your white mittens on twenty grand," he said grudgingly.

"Money's not what I'm after," Sonic countered.

"Epic lie number 1."

"No seriously, I'm not interested in the reward!"

"Epic lie number 2."

"You're not gonna believe anything I tell you, are you?"

"Finally you got something right."

"Well you're gonna listen anyway."

"Make me."

Sonic squinted. "Do you realize the position you're in? I've got the gun, and all the buttons. I'm holding all the cards now mister, so you straighten up."

"Most of the cards, but not the trump card," Firetail jeered. He whipped around and produced a small remote from his pocket. It had a single button on it. Sonic stared.

"The eject remote. And, conveniently, you happen to be sitting in the ejection seat. Now, you do everything exactly as I tell you, or you're taking a long swim in space." He grinned mockingly. "And from what I hear, you can't."

"You know me?"

"Vaguely. But that's not important. Now, you spill what you tried to accomplish by stowing away, or I spill your guts. Make up your mind."

Sonic put down the gun. He knew he was beaten. All he could do was explain and hope that Firetail would believe him.

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><p><strong>Thanks to anyone reading this and please leave a review; it will help me improve my writing a lot.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Teaming Up

"Okay, I'm gonna say this once, big guy, so listen up. There's an evil character out there, named Dr. Eggman, who wants your hide for the reward. I'm his arch rival, you might say, and if he gets the reward, Mobius goes down."

"Mobius? You mean that planet in Sol?"

"Yeah. So by stowing away I was actually gonna protect you from that creep so he doesn't get his dirty hands on the reward."

"Hmm… Well, from what I've heard of you, your intentions are always good. Maybe you can help me out."

"Thieving? Never."

"No, this is something else. I got word that a group of autonomous fighters were headed to Cyris. There's something down there, some source of power, and it's the only way to stop them. Once they destroy it, they'll destroy my world, Draykeon. Draykeon's core is super dense and unstable, so if it explodes it'll shatter all worlds within twenty light years distance. That includes your world, Mobius. So, I was headed to Cyris to grab that thing and use it against them."

"Why the raid then?"

"How else do we get money for water and food? Nobody wants me for a job anymore. Any money to me is bread money."

Sonic paused. Could he believe this guy? Autonomous fighters; that sounded really incredible, but if Firetail was telling the truth, then not only his world but scores of others were in danger.

"Alright, I believe you, but only because it's too dangerous not to. We can stop those fighters together. I'm sure you could use a few extra hands."

"Great! Now, I'll take control of the fighter, thanks."

Sonic warily slid out of the seat and handed him back his gun. To his surprise, Firetail did not immediately turn on him. Instead he set a direct course for Cyris.

"Hey, wait, you have to turn around and get my buddy Tails!" Sonic said.

"Huh?"

"The guy whose hoverboard you swiped."

"He's your sidekick?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, we'll grab him, but then we've gotta hurry. We've wasted enough time here already."

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><p>"Mechanical fighters? That sounds a bit, well, outrageous."<p>

"I know, but Eggman's done crazier things and we've seen them."

"You think Eggman's behind this?"

"He could be, I dunno. Somehow he's always connected to an 'ultimate evil' that's supposed to take over the universe."

Tails scratched his head. "I don't know. This all sounds kind of fishy. What if it turns out he made the whole thing up? How can we trust him?"

"Well I trust him, and you should trust me. If anything goes wrong, I'll take full credit for it."

"Okay. I'll do it. But only if they give my Extreme Gear back!"

"Thanks Tails."

Sonic and Tails high-fived, and headed to the docking bay where The Krait were waiting.

"I'm ready," Tails announced.


	7. Chapter 7: Threats

Beep! Beep!

Sonic's arm radio was pinging.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Sonic?" asked Dr. Eggman's voice.

"And of course it's Dr. Eggman," Sonic groaned. "First of all, how did you get onto my frequency?"

"That doesn't matter. What does matter, is that I've made a new robot, this time, much stronger, faster, and more athletic than you! This time I'll win!"

"Yeah, well, I'd love to trash your new toy, but I'm kind of tied up at the moment. Gimme a call in a few weeks."

"Oh-ho, very funny Sonic. As it turns out, I know exactly what you're up to, and also where you are. You'll meet up with my robot soon and… this time, you won't be coming back!"

"Threats. Always threats. Why not some backbone to back them up?"

Eggman growled in frustration. "I'll make you eat those words!" he said before breaking off. Sonic sighed and rubbed his head.

"What was that all about?" Firetail asked, not taking his eyes off the cockpit window.

"Eh, Dr. Eggman. He's the guy I told you about, remember? Well, he just threatened me with another robot of his. He sends them and I junk them. It's kind of routine."

"And all that talk was just, going through the motions," Firetail guessed.

"Exactly."

"Seems like a waste of time to me."

Sonic smiled. "It is, but it's fun. Anyway I kind of have to do it."

"Well, we'll be docking for fuel soon. After that, maybe a couple of days before we hit Cyris."

Sonic nodded, compiling the information in his head. Then, on an offhand note, he said, "I wonder how Tails and Volt are making out."

"Probably okay. Volt's the best software guru in the world, and I hear Tails has a knack for mechanical things. I'm sure they're fine."

* * *

><p>"I refuse to go one more light second with that… that creep!"<p>

Sonic was refueling the fighter and glanced over to where the heated argument was coming from.

"What's the matter with him? I thought you liked smart people!" Firetail growled.

"Yeah, smart is right. Too smart! You all know I'm the greatest software guru in the world, no, the universe! Then this guy comes out and tells me how to rewrite our antivirus screen!" Volt slammed his fist (wing) down on the desk in rage.

"All I said was that the dot matrix scanner was a bit lax and could use an update or two on the user interface's command-" Tails said.

"There, see what I mean?" Volt shouted. Sonic tried hard not to laugh out loud.

"Okay okay, cool it," Firetail said calmly. "If you don't want Tails with you, you don't have to have him with you. Gobi, you take Tails and no more arguments. And Tails, don't you say another word about user command scanner… whatever it was. That's it."

Volt, satisfied, stomped off to his fighter and climbed in. Firetail shook his head and walked back to Sonic.

"Ego getting the better of him?" Sonic queried.

"Yeah, well, he is a genius. And when he meets someone who tells him what to do, it's kind of embarrassing. Especially if it's a twelve year-old."

Sonic chuckled. "Tails is a little brainy. Okay, the fighter's filled up. When do we leave?"

"Right now," Firetail answered promptly. "We gotta be in space before night shift."

"Night shift?"

"Yup, night shift. Since there's no night or day in space, almost all ships run off of Meiton time; an eighteen hour day and eighteen hour night. If we don't get offa this station before then we'll be locked in."

"Gotcha. Let's go then!"

**Next chapter coming out soon. If you liked this story, or saw a part that needs improvement, please leave a review to let me know!**


	8. Chapter 8: Attack

"Haha, my evil minions! My plan is perfect! Flawless! Nothing can stop me! Not even that annoying blue hedgehog!" Dr. Eggman laughed out loud. "First the diversion so that I can charge the weapon. Then, after I capture him, we'll make the 'modification' and things will begin to get really nasty for Sonic!" His base was filled with his own evil laughter.

* * *

><p>"Time for night shift," Firetail announced over the radio. "Shut it down, kids."<p>

"Hey, who you callin' a kid?" Volt argued. "I'm just as old as you are!"

"Figure of speech, Volt. Goodnight." He switched off the mike before Volt could reply and grinned.

He set the fighter on auto-pilot, and all the lights went out except for a dim red one that illuminated the control panel. The fighter's manual inputs shut down and the humming sound got a lot quieter. After finally locking in the course, Firetail looked at Sonic.

"Um, normally we don't have guests on our fighters, but what I did last time I had one… which was like a year ago… I slept in the cargo belly and let the guest have the seat." He unstrapped and slid down the narrow passageway into the cargo section. "If there's red alert then just throw that black knob!"

Sonic strapped himself into the seat. It was comfortable and already leaned back to provide a streamlined shape to the fighter. Noting the position of the black knob, he slowly started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>All was quiet in the fighter except for the loud hum of the control panel input. For the whole six hours they had been inside the same fighter, they had barely talked at all. Tails sat uncomfortably in the rear compartment. Now he wished he had kept his mouth shut. Volt was annoying, alright, but she was, different. Something was strange. Just not right.<p>

"Tails, huh?"

It caught him off guard and he flinched slightly. "Uh, yeah. That's my name."

"What's your real name?"

Tails tensed. "Miles Prower. How'd you know Tails wasn't my real name?"

"Too obviously a nickname. Somebody like Sonic would give you that name, I'd imagine."

"Smart. And you're Gobi, right?"

"More or less, yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tails asked. The question seemed to fall on deaf ears. An awkward moment of silence followed.

"Um… Firetail, the captain, said it was lights-out time," Tails informed.

"Night shift," Gobi corrected.

"Sooo…. why aren't we night-shifting?"

"Everyone's got their turn to stay up a few minutes after night-shift to make sure we get no surprises. Tonight is my turn."

"Oh… er…. smart, again," Tails fumbled. Gobi smiled and looked at him.

"Two tails, huh? You must feel special."

"Yeah. Well, sort of. I can fly with them. Sonic taught me how. Once, we were in this really deep ravine, and these rocks were-"

Gobi put up a finger to silence him, staring at the screen. He stopped and looked around nervously.

"What is it?"

"Shh!"

Space came closer slowly. Suddenly, a pod appeared and stretched out four long tentacles, with huge claws at the ends.

"What the-" Gobi started, then jammed the master alarm switch down hard.


	9. Chapter 9: The Fight

The loud alarm boomed in all three fighters, and the pilots were instantly awake and in their seats.

"Holy vixen," Firetail said when he saw the thing. "Where did that come from?"

"Don't know. Do we converse with it?" Gobi asked.

"Try. Tell em' we're just passing through."

"Roger. Attention there, unknown… thing in front of us. This is The Krait, passing through. Please change course to avoid collision, over," she said in her slightly-official protocol. In reply she got this maniacal laugh.

"That's Eggman's voice!" Sonic exclaimed. "This is one of his toys!"

"What do we do?" Firetail asked.

"We blow it up!" Sonic answered quickly.

"Don't have to tell me to blow stuff up! Okay fighters, move out!"

The three ships converged on the robot and fired their laser cutters. With every move the robot lost a piece of itself.

"Look! Auto-repair pods, repairing the damage!" Volt pointed.

The pod lashed out and nearly hit Volt's fighter. He swung out of the way just in time.

"Hang on, I'm going in!" Gobi said, starting a dive. Space outside rotated but Gobi felt nothing. Tails, on the other hand, felt a sickening feeling.

Gobi swooped down and laid a mine right between two of the tentacles. The mine blew up one of them and it drifted off into space. As the auto-repair bots came out, Gobi yanked the fighter around and headed straight for the pod. The monster was rushing towards them so fast that it didn't look like they had time to pull up.

"We're gonna hit it!" Tails shrieked.

"No we're not!" Gobi retorted, ejecting a stream of laser and going into a tight loop. Again space moved and Tails felt even more sick. He gagged loudly.

"Just close your eyes," she advised. "It takes a little getting used to."

Firetail moved in and fired at the auto-repair bots, knocking them out one by one. In a few swift attacks the bots were all but gone.

Tails shut his eyes and his stomach was slightly relieved. But as he heard the sound of the engines roaring, he opened them and saw a tentacle rushing closer. He screamed in fright.

Gobi went into a roll, laying her third mine. The tentacle lost its claw and Tails lost his most recent meal.

"Ugh," he muttered, now wet.

"Oh great, not in here," Gobi groaned. "Just do what I say and trust that I won't wreck us, got it?"

Tails nodded, feeling really sick now, and shut his eyes tight. Gobi swooped back in and shot at full speed towards the pod. Tails again felt fear surge through his mind. Just as he started to open his eyes and scream, he felt a hand over his eyes. "Calm down."

Something rushed past them and a loud boom was the only sound after that.

Gobi put her hand back on the controls and slumped down, exhausted and relieved. Tails opened his eyes and looked back at the exploding robot.

"Woa-ho!" Volt's voice came in over the headsets. "That was an awesome move, Gobi! Tails, did you see that awesome move?! It was totally epic!"

"No," Tails answered. "I missed it." He smiled at Gobi, relieved.

"Now you'll keep calm, right?" she smiled. "No more screaming and 'oh we're gonna crash'-ing. Deal?"

Tails held out his hand. "Deal."

Gobi shoved a rag into his open hand. "Good. That goes in the cargo bay when you're done."


	10. Chapter 10: Ambushed!

"Another fuel stop? Seriously, this is getting monotonous."

"I know," Firetail scratched his head. "I think this fighter's got a fuel leak. Might want to have Tails check it out for me."

"You've got it," Sonic grinned.

Firetail flew the ship into the station and hopped out.

"I'll do the fuel this time, you know, give you a break," he offered.

"Thanks," Sonic replied. "I guess I should go get some fresh air."

"Okay. Make sure to come back in time for liftoff though."

Sonic dashed off and in only a few minutes was on the other side of the station. He felt sort of stiff because of the long, cramped ride, and it was good to stretch his muscles.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge mech appeared, with of course:

"Dr. Eggman. I might've known you'd show up here," Sonic stated. "This is the last stop between here and Cyris. So, what is it this time? You gonna use chainsaws, or big guns, or what? I hope it's not the normal 'giant claw' routine."

"Oh no, this is much different!" Eggman laughed, energizing his huge robot.

"I'm gonna win again. How is that different?"

"Because this time you'll lose!"

"We'll see about that."

Sonic started to dash in but hesitated when he heard footsteps behind him. It was Volt and Gobi.

"Sonic, Tails wants to know if…. what the-" Volt gasped.

"What is that?" Gobi said, surprised.

"Just another one of Dr. Eggman's inventions," Sonic answered. "Time to make it history."

Sonic dashed in and slammed the mech right on the cockpit, but Eggman lowered a metal shield just in time. The mech grabbed for Sonic but was too slow; in fact Sonic was already behind the robot, trashing its jetpack.

"You've gotta move faster than that to catch me!" Sonic taunted.

Eggman's mech whipped out a gun and started blasting at Sonic, but the hedgehog easily dodged the bullets. The mech used all kinds of weapons; rockets, bombs, nets, everything, but Sonic still evaded its attempts.

Sonic slammed the last battery and the mech dropped to the floor. Sonic skidded to a halt.

"Thanks for the thrill. I'll see you later," Sonic said, turning around.

_BOOM!_

The sound of a rocket firing made him whip around again, but it was already too late. Eggman had fired one of the mech's giant fists and hit dead on. The metal fist bowled Sonic over.

Before he could get up, Eggman teleported behind him and slammed some sort of helmet on his head.

"Gotcha!" Eggman shouted. "You're coming with me!"

Sonic whipped around and kicked at Eggman's gut, but he dodged him and gave his helmet a shock. Sonic howled in pain.

Volt and Gobi whipped out their blasters and cocked them.

"Ready when you are, fatty," Volt declared. Eggman looked at them.

"One move out of place and your friend here becomes fried hedgehog!" Eggman threatened. "Hand over your guns now!"

When Volt and Gobi gazed at him defiantly, Eggman gave the helmet a shock and Sonic yelped. Helplessly he grabbed the helmet and tried to take it off but it zapped his fingers.

"I can do this as long as you can!" Eggman laughed. Reluctantly, Gobi and Volt handed over their guns.

"Hah! You're trapped, Sonic! Finally! You'll never get out of this one!" Eggman shouted. The pain in Sonic's head made his eyes swirl, and he blacked out.


	11. Chapter 11: Faker

The world swirled around and back into focus. Sonic sat up. What happened? How did he get here? Where was he? What was that thing on his-

Again the zap brought him back to reality. He winced.

"I see you again are trying to remove my Excruciator," Eggman taunted. "Go ahead, give it another try."

Sonic growled in disgust. "What do you want, Eggman?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want control of the world! And, to do that, I have to get rid of you somehow. The Excruciator will keep you-occupied, while my new robot goes about your doom."

"Why don't you just kill me now?" Sonic wondered, surprised that he was actually asking that.

"Well, I suppose I could… but that wouldn't be any fun. Oh, don't worry, I will kill you, but in more than one way."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Eggman smiled evilly and opened up a test container.

"Sonic, meet my newest invention: SONIK!" Eggman intoned.

"Zero points for original name," Sonic snorted.

"No, not Sonic. SONIK, with a K. Like Dr. Robotnik."

"Ohh, okay. That makes a huge difference," was the sarcastic reply. "I'll give you one point. Now let's see this thing."

The robot stepped out of the test container and into full light. Sonic gasped. It was though he were looking into a clear mirror. Every last detail had been copied off of Sonic and placed onto this robot; an exact mechanical clone of Sonic!

"Yes, you're really seeing this! This is SONIK, an exact copy of you! It has all your abilities, strengths, weaknesses, everything, just mechanical and not organic! The only difference is that he is loyal to me!"

"So, you're gonna use this guy to beat me up?" Sonic guessed.

"Er, no. I plan to use SONIK here for a different purpose." Eggman turned to a control panel and pushed a few buttons. SONIK turned on and looked around. "SONIK is going to be your-replacement for this mission."

"Ready when you are, boss," SONIK sneered, cracking his mechanical fingers. Each sound was so real, even SONIK's voice.

"You'll never get away with this!" Sonic threatened. "They'll know it's not me!"

"Or will they?" Eggman jeered. "Even your two-tailed friend will be fooled! SONIK is no different from you, except that I control him! Now, SONIK, do me a favor and put this hedgehog in its place."

"Gladly," Sonic said.

"I'm not talking to you!" Eggman exploded.

"Trash this faker?" SONIK said. "Be a pleasure."

SONIK went into a spin dash and knocked Sonic off his feet. The helmet hit the ground and sparked, electrocuting Sonic again. He screamed.

"Hah! That's only the beginning!"

SONIK flew forward at a speed that the real Sonic could barely make himself. The mechanical body slammed full force into Sonic, knocking him down again. Eggman laughed as Sonic tried in vain to beat the robotic version of himself. With a forceful punch, SONIK leveled Sonic.

"Enough SONIK. Let the poor biological weakling alone," Eggman ordered. SONIK looked at Sonic and did his little finger wagging.

"You creep," Sonic panted.

"That's just a preview of his-your powers. Impressive, huh?"

"Doesn't matter, Eggman. Your plan's gonna fail, just like all your others have!"

"On the contrary, this plan is not just like the 'others.'"

Sonic gritted his teeth and grabbed the helmet, yanking as hard as he could.


	12. Chapter 12: Impossible

Tails was crammed in the generator slot, sitting in Gobi's fighter as they cruised through space.

"You don't seem worried about Sonic," Gobi stated.

"Not really. I mean, if Dr. Eggman captures him again, he'll be back soon. Eggman can never hold onto him for long." He lied. He had a weird feeling about this one. Something was different this time. He just wished that Sonic would come back and they could continue on to Cyris together.

Changing his thoughts, he now focused on Gobi, who was completely concentrated on piloting the fighter. For quite a while he just stared at her, completely focused on her. She was beautiful, he thought. She somehow reminded him of someone he knew. Tails didn't care if she was a thief or a queen, he only cared what she was like.

Oh come on, stupid. Forget about her, he told himself. She's a thief. It doesn't matter what she's like. After the mission you have to turn her in, right?

Again Tails looked. She didn't look any older than him. Was she the type that gets angry if you ask? He wondered.

Gobi smiled and said, "I'm 12, just like you, and I'm not that type."

"Huh?" Tails had been so collected in thinking that he wasn't paying attention. "Wait-you…" He wondered if he had accidentally said anything.

"Yes?"

"Uhh… did I say something?"

"No, but you thought something. Pretty strongly too."

"You-you read my mind! How did you do that?"

"Telepathy. It's a gift. Not like it was that difficult anyway. You were too obviously in deep thought."

"Oh." Tails suddenly felt guilty.

"Look, Tails, I know what you're thinking. It's a nice thought, really, but it's impossible. We can't have each other like you want. You're a hero. I'm a thief. A _criminal_. People get _paid_ to kill me. I have to stay on the run constantly."

"I know… but…"

"No, hear me out. Under different circumstances, in a different time and place perhaps, this could be possible. You're actually kind of cute. But here and now, there's no way that this is happening, ever. When we're done here, we turn into enemies. It's your duty to try to turn us in. We kind of have to run away and will likely never meet again. It's _impossible_. So please, let's concentrate on this mission instead of each other. I know this sounds harsh but we have to look at these things realistically."

Tails looked down at his feet. Tears were welling up in his eyes now. He finally managed to muster enough courage to look back up at her.

"Can we… can we at least be friends-close friends-until this thing is over?" he asked.

Gobi pondered this a minute. His voice sounded like he was going to cry. She felt really guilty now. What had she accomplished? Well she got it off her chest for one, but all she did was make him feel worse. She owed him something. Definitely.

"Okay," she said softly.


	13. Chapter 13: Return

Firetail scanned space ahead. It would be night shift soon and Sonic hadn't returned yet. He began to worry about him. Somehow he knew that he would need Sonic when they got to Cyris.

Running his regular status check, he picked up the radio mike and said, "All fighters, check in."

"Right side all clear," Gobi answered.

"Captain, we've got an unknown off port side," Volt reported. "It's quite a bit smaller than our fighters. Might be an escape pod. Do we hail it or what?"

"I got it," Firetail replied. "Attention, unknown, this is Captain Firetail Taragon of The Krait. Please respond."

"Hello? Firetail? This is Sonic."

"Sonic? You escaped!"

"Yeah. He faced me with another robot, but it was no match for me. Ripped the helmet off my head, trashed the bot, and made off with this escape pod."

"Awesome. Glad to have you back."

"Can I talk to Tails?"

"Yup." Firetail switched frequencies to the public broadcast.

"Hey buddy, it's me!" Sonic said.

"Sonic! I knew you'd come back! How'd you escape this time?"

"Trashed his robot. While he wasn't looking I got the helmet off and then blasted his robot. The escape pod, well, I borrowed it."

"Great job."

"Better keep that pod," Volt advised. "It might come in handy if we need an extra transport. These fighters are pretty small."

"Yeah, it's much more roomy in here," Sonic agreed. "How much farther to Cyris?"

"Only a few more light seconds," Gobi answered. "We'll be there a few hours after night shift. Which, by the way, is in ten minutes."

"Always keeping tabs on time," Firetail muttered. "Okay, get ready to shut down fighters. I'm standing watch tonight."

* * *

><p>Eggman sat in his swivel chair, watching the events from the secret camera he had hidden on his escape pod. Yes, they were falling right for his trap. And they wouldn't know until it was far too late.<p>

It was time to get the second part of his trap ready. But he would need a valuable piece of information first… this was his foremost priority.

* * *

><p>Right after the eighteen hours of night shift passed, the crew woke up and right away saw the planet Cyris, looming in front of them like one of Eggman's giant creations. The planet was indeed smaller than Meiton and much smaller than Sonic's home Mobius, but large enough to have a densely populated city on one side and a practically desolate area on the other.<p>

"We're coming in to land in two hours," Firetail announced. "Strange thing about this city is that there's no night shift. The city is on the side that's always pointed at the sun. So there's no night in Cyris City."

"The flip side of that is that it's nighttime on the desolate side. No spaceship flying is allowed in that zone," Gobi added.

"A strange phenomenon, but known to happen on rare occasions," Tails mentioned. "Of course its technical name is a tidal lock-"

"Lay off," Volt interrupted. "Let's just concentrate on landing before we get the lecture from 'the doctor'."

"Cyris City has a big enough spaceport, but how are we going to get to the dark side of the planet?" Sonic asked.

"Either we try and pass through the orbital police stations, which is practically impossible," Firetail suggested, "or we land and ride our way through the streets on our hoverboards. You two do have hoverboards, don't you?"

"Extreme Gear, yes," Sonic corrected.

"So how about a race? From the spaceport to the edge of the city? Last one there goes back to the port to watch the fighters."

"You're on. Rules?"

"Yeah, one: anything goes!"


	14. Chapter 14: The Race

_"YEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

Firetail bellowed as he flew through the streets of Cyris City at a speed far exceeding the limit. Sonic followed close behind. So far Firetail and his crew had proved to be more than worthy opponents, yet Tails' and Sonic's tricks and quick maneuvering had helped them keep up.

A wailing siren caused Volt to look back. "Cops on our tail!" he warned.

"Let's go!"

Firetail shot up into the sky and landed his hoverboard on top of a tall building. Sonic followed, almost falling off but maintaining balance. The others remained on the ground and tried to lose the cops.

Building to building Firetail hopped, with Sonic right behind him. In a burst of speed Sonic shot in front of him, but his lead was only for a few seconds before Firetail cut him off again.

"Look out!"

Both screamed to the other at the same time as a huge skyscraper shot towards them. Sonic and Firetail split up, heading around the building in different directions.

In only a few seconds Firetail was back on course, while Sonic had run into a maze of telemetry towers and tall pillars. Like the expert he was, he weaved through them easily and looped back around to where Firetail was. The speedy fox had a considerable lead on Sonic.

Meanwhile behind them Volt was neck-a-neck with Tails. Volt slid to knock Tails off his board. They collided and Tails fell over. In a second he was back up but Gobi had already passed him.

Volt tried to recover from the hard collision but failed, skidding into a light post and crashing hard. Tails and Gobi flew past him easily.

"Fruit loops!" Gobi shouted as she flew by. Angry, Volt hopped back up on his board and fired ahead.

By now Firetail had lost ground to Sonic, who was approaching very quickly. Noticing how close he was coming, Firetail whipped out a pair of metal rings. Sonic came in for the knockout.

The fox leaned way over and drove his metal rings into the ground. Sparks flew as he twisted his body and performed a complete 360. Coming in from behind and taking Sonic off guard, he slammed his board into Sonic's and both of them fell off. Gobi rushed past them with Tails not far behind.

Firetail got up but Sonic was already shooting off. Volt whizzed by and Firetail brought up the rear.

"Oh yeah, this place is gonna get real messy!" Firetail grinned. He winked at Volt and the two moved up on Sonic.

Volt moved to Sonic's left and pushed him to the far side of the street. Despite Sonic's attempts to pull out, Volt held him in check as Firetail readied one of his metal rings.

Sonic saw the throw coming and tried to dodge it, slipping and almost hitting the ground. Like a boomerang Firetail's ring returned to his hand. The blow had given the pair a lead.

"Not bad," Sonic said to himself. "Time to get this over with!"

He resumed the race as the group entered a large tubular tunnel. Tails had gained ground on Gobi who was having mechanical difficulty. Firetail was third with Volt right next to him, leaving a rapidly approaching Sonic at the back.

Flying around the exterior of the tunnel, Sonic landed a perfect corkscrew that put him right in front of Volt. He swerved to avoid and skidded into the side wall.

Firetail saw Volt fall and kept an eye on Sonic. Sonic was heading forward at such a fast rate that he passed Firetail and slammed right into Gobi. The two fell off their boards and Firetail took up chase after Tails.

"Tails, look out!" Sonic shouted.

Tails whipped around and ducked just as Firetail flew over him, intending to knock him off. He managed to land a hit but Tails kept his balance. Another hit on Tails' board only served to fuel him.

"Oh, it's on now," Tails declared.

Moving in close, he swiped at Firetail with his tails, hitting him in the gut and knocking him back. Firetail tried to move up again but Tails blocked him, giving Sonic an opening.

Taking advantage of the situation, Sonic slid into Firetail and almost knocked him off his board. Firetail dodged another one of Tails' attacks. Volt and Gobi were too far behind to help him.

Enduring all of Sonic's quick attacks and Tails smooth moves, Firetail managed to keep up with them as the trio exited the tunnel and approached the end of the road.

"Enough!"

Firetail engaged some sort of warp afterburner and took off, almost instantly speeding out of sight. The blast from the ignition knocked Sonic and Tails backward, and Gobi and Volt slid past them. The afterburner had also raised a huge dust cloud.

Volt went for Sonic but Sonic jumped and avoided the attack. Again Volt slid out of control and hit a tree. Gobi was behind Tails when he suddenly slowed, giving Gobi the perfect chance to speed ahead and to the finish line. Tails and Sonic finished third and fourth respectively. Volt's damaged board slowly brought him to the group.

"Oh, I see how it is," Volt said sarcastically. "Everyone making sure the bird gets last."

"You need to watch your aggression," Firetail advised. "And you," he said, looking at Tails, "need to keep full speed on the final stretch!"

"It was a-uh, a mechanical… the… uh…" he stammered.

"Right stabilizer module," Gobi spoke up. "Got bent when Volt hit him. I saw it. He was trying to avoid drifting out of control." Tails flashed a 'thanks' look to her.

"So, where do we go from here?" Sonic asked.

"Well, Volt goes back to the spaceport, we go on to the dark side of the planet; to the ruins of Akal-Teki," Firetail answered.


	15. Chapter 15: Delay

"No, not yet! They're coming too fast! We're not ready yet!"

Eggman hadn't counted on them having hoverboards, much less speeding through the streets at full speed. They were approaching the area too quickly! He needed a distraction. More importantly, he needed that information!

* * *

><p>Moving over to another one of his controls, he switched it on and pressed the DEPLOY button. "This ought to slow them down!"<p>

"I hope Volt's okay. He acts kind of foolish when I'm not around," Gobi stated as they walked through the forest. They had been walking for two hours now and were nearing the twilight zone.

"_You_ act foolish when I'm not around to keep you in check," Firetail retorted.

"No, actually, remember that time that I was downed on Vornek and you had to-"

"Never mind, change subject."

"It looks like we're coming up on the twilight zone," Tails declared. "It ought to be colder there."

"Yeah, quite a bit cooler," Firetail agreed. "And even colder on the dark side of the planet. That's why nobody goes there anymore. We'll have to keep on the move to avoid a deep-freeze."

Sonic looked up at the stars. "How long until the fighters come?"

"Hmm… I'd say four more hours. That's a conservative guess, though. Unless they get delayed by the orbital stations, which is unlikely, we'll have guests prett-"

He was cut off by a loud crash that shook the ground. A huge tree toppled over right in front of them. The group managed to dodge it.

"Wow, that was way too-" Tails started.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted as another fell straight for him. Sonic dove into him and pushed him out of the way. The tree limb crashed right where he was an instant earlier.

On guard, Gobi and Firetail whipped out their blasters, waiting for the thing to show itself.

Another tree fell, this time away from the group, and revealed a relatively small-sized robot with twin sawblades. The four stared at it.

"What is that?" Gobi said.

"Looks like an Eggman robot," Sonic stated, starting into a figure-8 dash. Spinning into the bot, he managed to dodge its blades and hit its battery pack. In a few minutes the bot sputtered and died.

"Well, that's that," Firetail declared, holstering his gun.

Just as the words got out of his mouth, the sound of a thousand chainsaws reached his ears. A loud shattering sound followed and almost the entire forest fell to the ground, revealing hundreds of the bots.

"Uh-oh."

* * *

><p>Eggman watched the fight carry on. His robots were getting completely creamed-but then again he expected it. He needed to buy time; the sawblade-bot army was a small price to pay. Everything was ready. Almost…<p>

* * *

><p>Sonic dashed into another bot, barely dodging the spinning blades and ripping out its intelligence core. Using the dead hulk of the machine as cover, he looked up and tried to spot the other three. Firetail and Gobi were hiding behind some wreckage, rapidly pumping their blasters against the slowly approaching horde. Sonic spotted Tails, who was fighting hard but getting cornered.<p>

"Look out, they can shoot their sawblades!"

Firetail's warning came right in time. Sonic ducked and the blade went hissing over his head. Focusing on the advancing robots, he charged back into the mass.

Tails was having a rough time dodging all the blades and soon had to retreat back to the makeshift stronghold that Firetail and Gobi had set up. Firetail handed him his blaster and pulled out a box of grenades. Explosions followed his throws and at the same time Sonic wrecked dozens of the robots, but they kept advancing. The sawblades flying through the air held the threesome at bay.

"There are too many of them!" Firetail shouted. "We'll have to retreat!"

Sonic looked at the stronghold and didn't see an approaching sawblade-bot. As the cold metal sliced through his arm, a burning sensation ran all the way up and down his spine… but he felt something else too…

For a split second he felt different. He was almost…

"Sonic!" Tails shouted as Sonic's absent-minded state made him an easy target. His voice snapped him back to reality.

"Use Chaos Control!" Tails advised.

Disliking to show his strongest card but having no option, Sonic whipped out his blue Chaos Emerald and held it high in the air.

"Chaos-Control!"

In an instant Sonic felt empowered and began attacking the bots with new vigor. The trio in the stronghold watched as he took down the bots in rapid succession. Between the blasters, grenades, and Sonic's quick attacks, they had decimated the first wave. Tons of scrapped robots littered what used to be the forest.

Exhausted, Sonic slumped back to the other three and collapsed. Tails sat him up.

"What was that? How did you do that?" Gobi asked. Sonic, gasping, turned over the emerald.

"Chaos Control," he panted. "Long story. C'mon, we gotta get to those ruins."


	16. Chapter 16: Sixth Sense

Six hours passed before they finally reached the ruins. By now, Volt had reported that the fighters were already entering orbit of the planet. The team would have thirty minutes to retrieve whatever was in the ruins and get away before the fighters showed up.

"Sonic, Tails, you two search the pyramid," Firetail directed. "Gobi and I will take the temple. Holler if you find anything."

"Right, and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more of Eggman's minions!" Sonic warned as the two groups split up.

A huge, moss-covered stone temple stood before Sonic and Tails. At the front was a door, sealed with a heavy lock, and at the top was a hole-probably the result of a collapse in the roof.

"Let's try the top first," Tails suggested, flying up to it. He surveyed the damage and the hole. It extended down deep into the pyramid, completely devoid of light.

"Let's go in," Sonic said, hopping into the hole. The fall was farther than he had expected, but he landed perfectly on the stone floor. Tails followed, coming down at a much slower rate. The vines and creepers coating the walls in the dark room were enough to give him the shivers.

"What was that?!" Tails shrieked. A spider crawled right under him and he gasped.

"Calm down, Tails, it's just a spider," Sonic said, moving to another section of the room.

"W-wait, where'd you go? Where are you? I can't see a thing!"

"I'm right here, next to you. Stop being such as scaredy-fox."

Despite Sonic's advice, Tails remained tense as a spring, and every little shuffling sound or brick falling startled him. They searched the entire large room but found nothing.

Sonic felt something under his feet and looked down. It was a trapdoor!

"Hey, look at this!" Sonic hopped in without a second thought. Tails followed, climbing down the rickety old ladder. A rung snapped and he almost fell.

"Careful," Sonic warned.

"I don't like this place. It's got a weird thing going on. Something's not right," Tails said.

"Actually, I think there's nothing strange about this place," Sonic countered. "It's just been sitting here in the jungle for so long. Keep a move on, we don't want to freeze."

Tails followed Sonic as he looked deeper into the dark. "Yeah, I know, but Gobi said that if you trust your sixth sense, then you have a sixth more perception than those who don't."

"Sixth sense, eh?" Sonic said, now focused completely on Tails. "Gobi said that?"

Tails looked puzzled. "Y-eah."

"I need to ask you a question, Tails. A very important question." He stressed the words.

Tails stepped back. Something wasn't right. Sonic had never looked so intimidating before.

"How do you feel about her?"

"I-what?" Tails was honestly confused.

"What exactly goes on between you and her, tell me." It was a command this time.

"I… oh… uh… well… I mean, we're friends, sort of… and…" he stammered. Sonic didn't need an explanation; he had already gotten the answer.

"Oh. I see. Well, never mind then." He turned around and resumed surveying the tomb.

Tails wondered. What had gotten into Sonic? Trust your sixth sense, he reminded himself. He did listen to his feelings. And he felt that something wasn't right. Something was really not right.


	17. Chapter 17: Temple Search

"Guys, we found something."

"Be right there."

After digging in the remains of the pyramid and finding nothing, Sonic and Tails were glad to hear that Firetail had found a secret passageway from under the stone altar in the temple. It had taken some strength to push the altar away and open up the space but now there was just enough room to squeeze through.

Presently there were four pairs of eyes peering into the dark, mossy and cavernous tunnel ahead.

"Who wants to go down the dark spooky tunnel first?" Firetail joked. Everyone looked at him. "Fine then." He moved past them and started down into the dark. Gobi and Tails followed, and Sonic pushed the altar back over the hole after he came in. The four were plunged into pitch black.

"Anyone got a light?" Sonic asked. Someone shoved something into his hands and he switched it on.

"Here, the tunnel goes this way," Firetail spoke. "Keep moving, we only got ten minutes left."

"It's cold in here," Tails shivered.

The small expedition continued through a twisty passage and down a long staircase until they reached a huge vault, sealed with a stone door. Surprisingly, next to a tablet with ancient script on it was a very modern-looking scanner.

"Tails, can you read this?" Sonic asked. Tails looked up at the script.

"Hmm… I think so. It's ancient Teki script, not a very well-known language, but I'll try." Holding the flashlight up on the right hand corner, he started to read from right to left.

"This vault to remain sealed until all eternity; beyond lies a powerful… uh… capsule?... that no one can control. Thus was our fate." He stopped. "That's the script on the top."

"So, any instructions how to open this thing?" Gobi asked.

"Wait, this word here is 'unearth'," Firetail pointed. "I can recognize that much. Tails, read this part of the script."

"The capsule unearth will become in condition only of threat to our home beloved. To the capsule access granted only will be of the… er… hmm…"

"What is it?"

"Well this portion of the text appears to be some sort of riddle. Its translation is 'the one as the wind'. Who could that be?"

The four thought for a minute or two.

"Well whoever it is has to step into the scanner," Sonic offered.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Firetail smirked. "Okay, the one as the wind. What are some things that the wind is?"

"Chilly sometimes," Tails put in. "Or strong. Strong winds can uproot trees."

"So who's the strongest of us here?" Firetail asked.

"I don't think mere strength is what they are asking for," Gobi countered. "The wind is often described as free."

"Free as the wind?" Firetail echoed. "Uh, okay. Well, I think that I'm pretty independent!"

"This isn't a contest, we're just trying to open the door," Sonic reminded him.

"The wind can be fast," Tails added. "Sometimes up to 95 mph."

Again everyone pondered this. Several ideas were tossed in and out, but finally they agreed on one.

"It's a compilation," Gobi stated. "Of what we said. It's not just one thing, it's several things. Free, strong, and fast."

Everyone looked at Sonic. "Me?"

"Well, you're fast, no doubt about it," Tails said. "And free. And pretty strong. I think you fit the bill." The others voiced their agreement.

"Alright." Sonic stepped up onto the platform. He shuddered as the scanner skimmed over his body, tingling his quills.

A red light flashed and the sound of rushing water was heard. In an instant, the water was pouring into the tunnel, filling it up!


	18. Chapter 18: Intensity

Sonic immediately was swept under, while Firetail and Tails struggled against the current. Gobi dove in after Sonic. In a few seconds she surfaced, shaking her head.

"Blast the door open!" Tails shouted. "Let the water out!"

Gobi whipped out her blaster, cocked it, and fired, but the wet pistol only sputtered.

Firetail pulled out his gun and checked it. "Drenched! Our guns are no use!"

Tails hopped onto a ledge, started into a spin dash, and slammed with all his force against the doorway, but all that he got was a massive headache. The door was sealed tight!

As the freezing water rose even higher, Firetail grabbed one of his grenades and pulled the pin, lobbing it at the door. The grenade fell into the water but only made a loud splash.

Tails lost his footing as a strong current pushed him off the ledge and down towards the floor. While Gobi dove to rescue him, Firetail whipped out another grenade, pulled the pin, and jammed it into a crack on the door.

"Get back!" he shouted.

The explosion rocked the tunnel, destroying the door and letting the water flow out. The current swept them all into the vault.

Gobi found Sonic's limp form and pulled him up. "Hey, look, the water's draining!" she said to Firetail, pointing to a hole in the ground.

"Where's Tails?"

They both looked around frantically for Tails, but couldn't find him. Had he been swept down the hole?

A gurgle caught Firetail's attention and he grabbed blindly into the rushing water. He grasped a furry object and yanked hard, pulling Tails out by the neck. He coughed and gasped for air, half choking from the water and half from Firetail's grip. Firetail set him down next to Sonic.

Sonic shook off the woozy feeling and looked around. The water flowed freely but wasn't draining.

"There must be a river up here," he mused. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're all fine," Firetail answered him. "Lost the flashlight though."

"Guys, there's a light coming from that direction." Gobi pointed to a well-lit doorway. They all got up and sloshed their way through the knee-deep water and into the lit room.

In the center of the room was a single, tall pedestal. The object that was glowing was a capsule, held in suspended animation above the pedestal and emitting a strong light that almost blinded them. Firetail reached for the capsule.

"Wait!" Gobi warned, afraid it would explode. But he had already picked it up. The glow receded into a soft halo of light that surrounded the shell.

"Okay, carefully hand it to me," Sonic ordered. Handling the capsule gently, they made the transfer. Sonic looked into the tiny pod. "It's empty. There's nothing in it. I guess it was just a myth."

"Myth or not, the fighters will still destroy it," Tails said. "Just take it and let's get out of here. We don't have a lot of time."

"Tails is right. We got ten minutes. I'll call Volt." Firetail warmed up his arm radio. "Amazing this thing still works," he muttered as they began their exit.

He fiddled with the device while they made their way back up the stairs and into the passageway. "No good. The telemetry's too weak in here. We'll have to wait until we're on the surface."

The climb back up was harder as they were wet and shivering, but soon they had reached the altar. Surprisingly, Sonic was able to move it out of the way by himself. Tails stared.

"How did you do that?"

"Easily, really." Sonic hesitated. "Er… I mean, yeah, it was really tough." He tried to cover up.

Tails was about to say something when Firetail interrupted him. "Hey, I've got a signal! Hello, Volt? Can you hear me? We need you now, like right now."

"On my way," Volt answered. "So are those fighters. You've got like eight minutes."

"Roger. We're at the old ruins. I'm sending you our position now." Firetail pushed a few buttons on the device.

"I got your coords. There's not enough room for me to land!"

Firetail, a bit shocked and dismayed, looked around to see if there was an area that they could clear.

"Wait a second, there's an old power plant a bit north of your position," Volt stated. "The big flat fuel tank is big enough for me to land on!"

"Okay, but be careful with those flames! There still may be fuel in there!"

"Wilco. Moving out!"


	19. Chapter 19: Execute

Sonic sat in the dark room, alone, dazed, and starving. He had no idea how long he had been in here; all he knew was that he was captured and escape was impossible.

Eggman stepped up to the bars and unlocked them. "C'mon out Sonic, I have something to show you!"

With the Excruciator still on his head, Sonic had no choice but to obey Eggman. He stood up weakly and made his way to the door.

"Hmm… less stamina than I had expected," Eggman chortled as he led Sonic up to his master screen.

On the screen was a display of Firetail, Gobi, Tails, and the evil clone, SONIK. Sonic watched as they waited for Volt to appear in the sky.

"Told you it would work!" Eggman laughed. "They think that's you! Even your little friend, Tails, doesn't suspect a thing! And I suppose I should thank… myself! For getting that piece of information that was so vital!"

"What are you going to do?" Sonic asked.

"Watch and learn, hedgehog!"

Eggman flicked a switch and it turned to a POV view, obviously from cameras mounted in SONIK's eyes. They focused on the descending fighters and escape pod that were now landing on the fuel tank.

Volt hopped out and greeted the crew.

"Get in, we don't have much time. Those fighters will show up any second now!"

"They already showed up. Look!" Tails pointed into the sky. All eyes moved skyward.

"Now!" Eggman shouted, pressing a button.

Instantly a ring of turrets appeared, firing lasers in rapid succession. Firetail grabbed Tails and shoved him into the fighter, closing the door and charging up the engines. Volt hopped into his and did likewise. SONIK and Gobi scrambled but collided with each other. During the frenzy, a laser grazed SONIK's arm and the master screen fizzed up.

"Hurry!" Tails shouted as Firetail lifted the fighter off the ground.

SONIK froze. He felt it again. Acting quickly, he opened the capsule, shoved something into it, and shut it.

At the same time, the screen cleared and Eggman pressed another button. A trap was triggered that snared Gobi's ankle, holding her fast to the surface of the fuel tank!

"Gobi!" Tails shouted, but they were already flying away. "Turn around! Go back!" He yelled at Firetail.

"She's safe! The fighters are after the capsule, not her! They'll be on Sonic's tail!" Firetail assured him. Worried but trusting him, Tails looked forward.

SONIK hopped into the escape pod and blasted off, loading the capsule into the pod's ejection slot.

"Ho ho, perfect!" Eggman laughed, as he ordered SONIK to take the pod into the atmosphere.

"Sonic, watch out! Those fighters have changed course and are bearing down on you!" Volt shouted.

SONIK piloted the pod away from the fighters, but the speedy craft gained on him every second.

"Guys, get me out of here!" he pleaded.

Volt and Firetail whipped their fighters around and charged in, but the attack jets had already surrounded SONIK. They started firing and the pod began to smoke.

"Hang on, Sonic!" Firetail shouted.

SONIK took aim, carefully placing his sights on Gobi, and fired the ejector. The capsule was launched back down at the surface.

"I'm getting out of here myself!" he retorted.

The fighters broke off and began to pursue the pod. Tails, Firetail, and Volt all at once realized what SONIK had done.

"He's ejected the pod!" Tails shouted. "Gobi will be killed! You gotta get that pod!"

Firetail couldn't believe what he was seeing. Nonetheless he gunned his engines and prepared to intercept the capsule.

"Sonic! How could you?!" Volt shrieked.

"It's me or her!"

Gobi, still trapped on the fuel tank, watched the events in the sky unfold. It all made sense now. She knew she would die.

As the capsule entered the atmosphere, it began to glow and Firetail could see it easier. He arrowed the fighter straight for the capsule, intending to deflect it away from Gobi.

"No! No no no!" Eggman shouted, frantically pressing buttons. One of the jets broke formation and charged Firetail, forcing him to swerve to avoid collision.

"No!" Tails shouted.

All eyes were on the capsule as it fell down towards the fuel tank. Thirty feet, twenty, ten… five… Gobi braced herself for the explosion that she knew would destroy her.

But instead, all that was heard was the sound of glass breaking. Looking up, she saw the broken remains of the capsule, and…

_A glowing blue gem!_

"What the?!" Eggman shouted. Sonic's eyes grew wide.

"It's a Chaos Emerald!"

Gobi realized that this as her only chance. Reaching out as far as she could, she could barely touch it. Stretching even further, she managed to grab for it but only pushed it farther.

The jets bore down on her, charging their lasers. Firetail, Tails, and Volt could only watch from a distance, not knowing that the capsule contained the emerald.

"Grab for it!" The real Sonic cheered. "C'mon!"

"No!" Eggman wailed. "Stop her! Fire! Shoot! Do something!"

Gobi pulled against the chain trap and felt something give way. Wriggling herself painfully, she slipped her foot out of her boot just as the jets opened fire. In a split second she had the emerald in her hand.

"Chaos Con-"

_BBOOOOOOOOOMMMM!_


	20. Chapter 20: Acting

"_NOO!_" Tails screamed at the top of his lungs. The lasers ignited the fuel, causing a massive explosion that obliterated everything,including all of the attack jets. Firetail and Volt stared, jaws open and gazes locked onto the fiery display.

"Yes! Finally! Success!" Eggman shouted. "Haha! I've finally won!" Sonic didn't respond. He was too shocked to do anything.

When the explosion cleared, SONIK moved his pod over near the others.

"Now time for some acting," Eggman snorted, returning to his remote command controls. "SONIK, go to it!"

For a moment there was silence, then Tails blurted:

"Murderer! You… you killed her! You murdered her!"

"To save yourself!" Firetail added. "You… you cowardly, weakling, son of a-"

"Hey hey, I did what I had to!" SONIK pleaded. "Look guys, it was me or her. I had no choice!" His firm voice silenced the crew, all except Tails, who was on the brink of tears.

"Look on the bright side, Tails. I mean, we got the fighters. And we got the reward money too!"

The real Sonic's jaw dropped at the same instant the others' did.

"Money?!" Tails exploded. "You just murdered someone! And all you think about is money?!"

"Sure. I've been in it for the goods ever since I started." SONIK's nonchalant tone delivered the perfect blow. The real Sonic just now realized that in that short sentence Eggman had destroyed his reputation.

"You dirty-" A zap to the Excruciator knocked him out.

"You wha-" Tails' reaction was exactly what Eggman had hoped for. Firetail and Volt, realizing they had been betrayed, became enraged.

"Bounty hunter!" Volt shouted. "You're nothing but a stinking, cowardly, selfish money hounder! You're lucky we don't melt you to slag this instant!"

"Fine, if that's the way you feel about it," SONIK retorted. "Tails?"

There was a slight pause as Tails shed silent tears. "Just go. Go away. I never want to see you again!"

"Aw, c'mon Tails. Just because I-"

"Go away!" he cried. SONIK shrugged and directed the pod away. Volt and Firetail were now more shocked by Tails' reaction.

"Wait… Tails, you-" Firetail started.

"I loved her… " he cried silently, over and over.

* * *

><p>Sonic stirred and looked up. He felt dead. He may as well be, anyway. He had seen what Eggman had done to him. In a single blow, he had destroyed his friendship, his reputation, his entire past. All of what he had done was now a waste. And he was sure that Eggman would dispose of him soon as well.<p>

He couldn't believe it. He tried to wake himself up, but he couldn't.

It had really happened.

Eggman had finally won.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
